Table of contents for 498 in Computeractive

You’re going to hear a lot about Brian ‘Tomo’ Thompson over the next few months. The Middlesbrough shop owner goes on trial in May charged with selling TV boxes with Kodi installed. Viewers can use these to illegally watch paid-for content online, such as live football, TV and films. He claims he’s done nothing wrong, but broadcasters will hope for a severe sentence to deter other box sellers. It’s a fascinating and complex case that could set a legal precedent, but it’s also a distraction from what makes Kodi great - which is that it’s an outstanding way to organise and (legally) play your music and videos. We explain how to use it in our Cover Feature (p50), and recommend the best add-ons to install. Kodi will give us lots…

PC | £800 PC Specialist www.snipca.com/22318 Having tested a few now in different PCs, we can confirm that Intel’s latest processors, codenamed Kaby Lake, aren’t exactly a quantum leap over their predecessors (Skylake). More like a dispirited plod up a low kerb, to be honest. Some do show noticeable performance improvements, but the i5-7400 inside this new desktop system from PC Specialist is not a shining example. It’s no faster in practise than, say, 2013’s i5-4670K, which is now so old it’s officially ‘end of life’. It is cheaper, though, which means it leaves room in a reasonable £800 budget for 16GB of memory, a 240GB SSD, a 1TB hard drive, and a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card from Nvidia’s surprisingly powerful new range. This lot plus a chunkily styled…

Earlier this year devolo teamed up with Computeractive to ask readers to test their dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Starter Kit, which uses powerline technology to boost the Wi-Fi connection throughout the home. The results were impressive, as these reviews testify. “I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of setting up the plug to my Virgin Media broadband. The instruction booklet was well written and concise. Devolo had the foresight to provide a space in the booklet to jot down the Wi-Fi key. Connection to the Wi-Fi plug with a Windows 10 laptop, iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone and Android phones was straightforward. We quickly got a maximum signal I initially plugged the kit in the back bedroom, which receives no signal. It has enabled me to have the kids in that…

ANDROID & iOS Add personal information that could save your life Both Android and iOS devices have a little-known section called ICE (In Case of Emergency). As its name suggests, this lets you store information that could be crucial should you suddenly fall ill or suffer an accident – such as your blood group, allergies, any medications you’re taking and the emergency contact of a close family member, relative or friend. Someone can then relay this information to paramedics or get in touch with your emergency contact without having to unlock your phone. To set this up on an iPhone, open the Health app, tap Medical ID, then Edit. Enter your emergency contact details and fill in the required fields, including date of birth, allergies, medical conditions and blood type.…

WINDOWS 7, 8, 10 Cycle through your open programs quickly Computer keyboards have two Alt keys, which are on the left and right (sometimes labelled Alt Gr) of the spacebar. The handy Alt+Tab keyboard shortcut lets you cycle through any open programs by holding down the Alt key (either one), while pressing the Tab key repeatedly. Simply release the Alt key when you reach the program you want. This Alt+Tab switcher has changed its appearance since the launch of Windows Vista, but you can make use of the version found in Windows between 98 and XP (see screenshot above). To do this, hold down the left Alt key, press and release the right Alt key, then press the Tab key to cycle through your open programs. WINDOWS 10 Pin an…

What is it? Software that MI5 and the CIA have allegedly been installing on some Samsung smart TVs to spy on people in their own homes. The claim was made by WikiLeaks, which in early March published what it called the “biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents”. How does it work? According to the documents (www.snipca.com/23745, see screenshot below), it tricks people into thinking their TV is switched off, when it’s actually still on and using the set’s microphone to covertly record conversations in the room. It’s named after the Doctor Who villains first seen in the 2007 episode Blink (see main image). David Tennant, playing the Time Lord, called these terrifying stone statues “the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life-form ever produced”. They strike when you blink or…

1080p Of the common types of high-definition video, this is the best quality: 1920x1080 pixels. 32bit A measure of how much information a computer can process at once. Most older computers are 32bit. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels 64bit A technology that processes information in larger chunks. Most modern computers are 64bit 720p A common resolution of high-definition video: 1280x720 pixels. AES 256 Advanced Encryption Standard. A form of encryption that scrambles information so it can only be read with the correct password. AMOLED Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode. An alternative technology to LCD for creating flat-panel screens. Most commonly used in smartphones, tablets and smartwatches. Band steering Detects whether a router is dual-band and, if so, directs it to 5GHz. Browser hijackers Programs that change…

Set your diary: Windows 10 Creators Update ‘due 11 April’ Windows 10 users now have a date when they might get the much anticipated Creators Update: 11 April. The date comes from the website MSPoweruser, citing “sources who are close to Microsoft’s plans”. It expects the company to confirm the date by the end of March, or first week of April. Microsoft is expected to roll out the update in ‘waves’, so not everyone will receive it on 11 April (should that be the date). This ‘staggered’ release will prevent downloads overloading its servers. The rumoured date is a month earlier than previous reports, which had suggested 10 May, to coincide with Microsoft’s Build conference for software developers. Delay updates Excitement about the Creators Update has grown as each new…

Tell us what’s on your mind Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive Creators Update ‘will make Windows 10 better than ever’ I would like to echo your enthusiasm for the Creators Update (CU), which is coming to Windows 10 soon. In Issue 497 (News, page 6) you say that the CU will make the operating system “smoother to run”. That’s spot on. I signed up to the Windows Insider Program (https:// insider.windows.com) late last year so I could try some of the new tools. I was a bit nervous at first. Would it mess up my PC? But Microsoft has added lots of little options that have the overall benefit of ironing out quirks and glitches. There are some standout tools too, like Paint 3D. I’m no artist –…

SYSTEM MONITOR SysGauge www.sysgauge.com What you need: Windows 7, 8/8.1 or 10 Free system-monitoring tools tend to focus on one job, such as checking hard-drive usage or alerting you when your processor is about to blow a gasket. SysGauge juggles both these tasks – and also monitors your RAM, installed programs, operating system, USB ports, router and even other PCs on your network. It displays real-time measurements on graphs, then offers ratings and warnings to help you make sense of the numbers. All from a small, easy-to-use program that doesn’t cost a penny. What’s the catch? Honestly, there isn’t one. It can even spell ‘gauge’ correctly. It can’t quite whip out a screwdriver and fix your PC, but it can switch it off and on again, which some may argue…

SECURITY CAMERA | £179 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23721 Nest was the company set up by Tony Fadell, the inventor best known for creating Apple’s iPod. Its first product was a smart central-heating thermostat, but when Google bought the company it also acquired Dropcam, an internet security-camera maker, and thus the Nest Cam (see our review, Issue 457) was born: one of the first simple, all-in-one units for monitoring your home over the internet. Now there’s a version that works outside your house too. The camera comes with a small metal plate that you can screw to any suitable surface. This done, the Nest Cam Outdoor attaches to the plate magnetically. Then you just need to get power to it. If you have an outdoor power socket, the supplied 7.5-metre cable should…

PHONE | £200 from Three www.snipca.com/23737 When we reviewed the Moto G4 last year (see Issue 479), we wondered when other makers of budget phones would catch up. They still haven’t. But Lenovo, which bought Motorola’s mobile business in 2014, has decided to compete with itself. The P2 is a new model that’s equally impressive value. It’s exclusive to Three, but comes unlocked on pay-as-you-go with a minimum £10 top-up. The P2’s best feature is battery life: our video-playback test took 28 hours 50 minutes to run it down. In everyday use, we went a whole weekend with 70 per cent still remaining. This is phenomenal for any phone, let alone a relatively cheap one. How has Lenovo managed it? Simply by fitting a bigger battery. The phone feels a…

PULL OUT & KEEP Issue 498 Tightening up crucial Windows security settings that (if left in their default state) leave your PC vulnerable to attack from hackers and malware is one way to add layers of protection to your PC – also known as ‘hardening’ your PC. While you can harden your PC using Windows’ default tools, it can be a long-winded process. Hard Configurator is a new security program that lets you bolster 13 security settings in one go and keep your PC safe. STEP 1 The program makes changes to your PC’s registry, so it’s a good idea to back it up and create a system restore point. Go to www.snipca.com/23812, select your Windows version in the dropdown menu 1 , then follow the instructions to back up…

Dugout* Free Android: www.snipca.com/23782 iOS: www.snipca.com/23783 Football fans will love this app because it lets you create a personalised news feed so you can follow your favourite teams and players. You’ll get access to exclusive video footage from star players who have signed up with the app, including Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain. Energy Bar* Free Android: www.snipca.com/23781 This app is useful for anyone who struggles to see their phone’s battery indicator. It represents your battery charge as a multicoloured bar across the top of your screen. A full green bar indicates your battery is fully charged. As your battery begins to run low the bar becomes smaller and turns red. Email Free Android: www.snipca.com/23784 iOS: www.snipca.com/23785 This brilliant iOS app is now available on Android. As well as letting…

SWAY Set which part of your image appears on smaller devices Sway recently added a new feature that lets you set which part of a larger image you want to focus on when displaying your presentation on devices with smaller screens, such as phones and tablets. Go to www.sway.com, click ‘Sign in’ and log in using your Microsoft account details. Now click to select a presentation you’ve created or click Create New to do that. You can add an image from your PC or use one of Sway’s copyright-free images. To do the former, click Image on the left, then drag and drop an image from your PC into the ‘Drag an image here’ box. To add a copyright-free image, click Image, type what image you want in the search…

Few programs in recent years have proved as controversial – or as popular – as Kodi. On one level it’s a brilliant music and video player, letting you stream content between computers. If you connect your laptop to your TV with an HDMI cable you’ll also be able to access and watch everything on the big screen of your television. Kodi – known as XBMC until 2014 – also excels at online streaming. It gives you access to all kinds of add-ons that expand its basic features, so you can watch YouTube, iPlayer, out-of-copyright movies and a whole host of other video content straight from one convenient location. In addition, you can listen to hundreds of radio stations from around the world, view all your photos and stream podcasts. Advanced…

Rip-off accessories Retailing is part science, part art. Take supermarkets, for example. Typically, the first thing you see as you walk through the door is fresh produce. That’s no accident: the bright, clean appearance and vibrant colours of the stacked fruit and vegetables are intended to cheer you up — and the happier you are, the more you’ll spend. You might also scent a few enticing wafts from the bakery section. But supermarkets don’t make big bucks on either of these goods. To make fat profits, they need to convince you that the crisp lettuce and warm loaf would taste even better sandwiched with a wedge of fine, matured cheese. Fine, matured cheese that, naturally, is rather pricey. Oddly enough, the high-tech industry of computing is not so very different…

WARNING: JUNK AHEAD Junk offender: PDFCreator PDFCreator is the answer to many of your prayers. This free, open-source program lets you convert Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and text files to PDF for easier printing and sharing, and automates the cumbersome process of printing to PDF. It also converts documents to dozens of photo formats and lets you merge multiple documents then export them as a photo. It’s so wellestablished it’s got its own Wikipedia page, and the program has just been updated. So why is it on this page and not in Best Free Software? That’ll be the two whopping PUPs in its installer - Bing search and Web Companion Pro, both browser hijackers – as well as the extra program it inflicts on your PC without asking. Installation begins…

Can I get my phone repaired? Q I got an LG G4 phone when I signed up to a two-year contract with Vodafone in June 2015. It’s now faulty and refusing to charge properly. I took it back to Vodafone, but they are refusing to help me. The staff keep saying I’ve either dropped it or that it’s fair wear and tear. I didn’t pay for the phone so I’m unsure what my rights are. Tim Lewcock A In the eyes of the law Tim did pay for the phone, just not all in one go upfront. His subscription is covered by the Sale of Goods Act providing the fault is inherent. It seems that neither Vodafone nor LG have carried out an internal inspection of the phone. Instead Vodafone’s…

LAPTOP?TABLET | £499 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23852 Acer Spin 3 Size isn’t everything More and more laptops nowadays are slimmer, lighter ‘two-in-one’ touchscreen machines, with a 360-degree hinge that lets you fold the keyboard out of the way and pretend you’re using a tablet. The Spin 3 isn’t quite that. It has the convertible feature, but it’s a full-size 15-inch laptop that weighs over 2kg, or four-and-a-half bags of sugar in old money. “It’s large and fairly cheap, but it isn’t very responsive and the screen is poor” That’s not so heavy that you couldn’t lug it around with you, but it wouldn’t be easy. Basically, it’s a full-blown Windows 10 computer with touchscreen operation thrown in. Because Windows 10 is specifically designed to work just as well in Tablet mode…

WI?FI EXTENDERS | £371 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23734 Mesh routers are the next big thing in Wi-Fi, using multiple boxes to spread reception evenly around your home and avoid the drop-outs and dead spots we’ve all grown accustomed to. We previously tested BT’s Whole Home Wi-Fi (see our review, Issue 496), which comprises three impressive-looking dishes. Netgear’s Orbi provides just two vase-like routers, but quotes the same maximum speeds on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wavebands and claims to cover 4,000 square feet – four times the size of the average British house. It’s easy to set up and automatically optimises your broadband As with BT’s setup, the units look identical, but one plugs into your existing broadband router while the other acts as a satellite unit elsewhere. Again, you can add…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2016 Back Issue CD: £15 from www.snipca.com/23209 LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 15 5000 £699 from www.snipca.com/23375 Tested: Issue 459 Now updated with Intel’s seventhgeneration processors, this laptop ( not the 2-in-1 version) now edges the ZenBook below and starts at just £449, but mid-range configurations with SSD and AMD R7 graphics are the best choice. ALTERNATIVE: Asus ZenBook UX305CA If you want something sleeker, this offers basic performance in a superbly slim and light metal case. £600 from www.snipca.com/23376 DESKTOP PC Wired2FireDiabloUltimaV2 £800 from www.snipca.com/23767 Tested: Issue 497 NEW ENTRY Teaming Intel’s latest i5 processor with a Radeon RX 460 graphics card, this delivers great all-round performance and adequate gaming, helped by a fast M.2 SSD plus a generous 2GB hard…

Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Make Snipca links easier to use in Microsoft Edge Thank you for featuring my Snipca tip in Computeractive (see ‘Make our Snipca URLs easier to use’ Workshop, Issue 495, page 42). I really hope your readers found this useful. As well as Chrome and Firefox, you can also install this extension in Windows 10’s default browser Edge, but the method is slightly different. To do this, you need to use the free program EdgeManage, which lets you organise your bookmarks in the browser. Go to www.snipca.com/22505, click the green Download button, then run the downloaded setup file to install the program. Next, ensure that Edge is closed on your PC, start EdgeManage and click the place in the list of favourites…

AGES 0-5 Pooza Free* Free www.snipca.com/23786 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/23787 (iOS) The activities in this app are designed to help improve your child’s cognitive development and are organised into age groups (2-6). Apart from puzzles, there are matching, sorting and shape-based games using simple drag and drop techniques. AGES 6-10 Hocus* Free www.snipca.com/23788 (Android) 99p www.snipca.com/23789 (iOS) Hocus is a relaxing puzzle game in which your child needs to move a red cube toward a red dot by dragging it along the edges of a three-dimensional shape. There are over 100 puzzles and your child can even create their own. AGES 11-16 Euclidean Lands £2.99 www.snipca.com/23790 (iOS) This game is like a cross between Chess and a Rubik’s Cube. You play as a spearwielding warrior who needs to reach a specific…

Register Avast Free without disclosing your email address Avast Free is still the best free antivirus (AV) available (see our recent AV group test, Issue 493, page 53), but it’s not perfect. One annoying aspect is that Avast tries to get you to register the software using your email address to obtain your free licence. From that point on, Avast can bombard you with emails urging you to buy the full program. However, there is a way to register Avast Free without sharing your email address. First you should check whether you need to register. Open Avast by double-clicking its icon in your taskbar’s notifications tray, then click Settings followed by Subscription. If you see a ‘Register now’ button it means you need to register – but don’t click the…

Why can’t I tweak some Start menu icons with Tile Iconifier? QI’ve been using Tile Iconifier (Issue 497, page 55) to tidy up my Start menu, but some icons are proving hard to edit. For example, I selected Windows Defender, then double-clicked the ‘Medium icon’, but its icon doesn’t appear, meaning I can’t tweak it. Any assistance would be much appreciated. Jeremy Hall AA few Windows 10 default icons (including Windows Defender) seem more resistant to Tile Iconifier than others. The solution is to select the program in Tile Iconifier’s main list of shortcuts, click Quick Build Custom Shortcut (see screenshot below), then OK when the Clone As Custom Shortcut box appears. This adds a new shortcut to the list in Tile Iconifier. In your case it will be called…